DAILY STAR: Negros Oriental

The Department of Health in Negros Oriental is appealing to the public to help curtail the rising number of dengue cases in the province and to prevent an epidemic.

Describing it as already alarming, Dr. Socrates Villamor, provincial DOH chief, said Wednesday that as of July 7, the total number of dengue cases reported since January this year has doubled compared to the same period last year.

The cases reported by the three hospitals in Dumaguete totaled 453, while only 226 were reported in the same period in 2011 or a 100.44 percent increase in dengue admission, Villamor said.

Extended terms for brgy
officials OK’d in House
BY JUANCHO GALLARDE

The Committee on Local Governments in the House of Representatives has approved a proposal that seeks to extend the term of office of barangay officials from three to five years.

Rep. George Arnaiz (Neg. Or., 2nd District) said the proposal was approved in the committee level before Congress went on recess, and was submitted to the Committee on Rules before it can go to the plenary for discussions.

Arnaiz, who chairs the Local Governments committee, said the proposal pushes for the conduct of the barangay elections on the last Monday of October 2015, and every five years thereafter.

LGUs told: Be proactive
in disaster prevention
BY RENE GENOVE

Former Finance Secretary Gary Teves is encouraging local government units to observe necessary precautions to prevent disasters, especially with the onset of the rainy season and the continued tremors felt in the island.

Teves said “let us be more proactive in preparing our communities to minimize the potential damage that natural calamities could still cause.”

The call was made as the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported a magnitude 3.4 earthquake that hit Dumaguete City at 11:20 p.m. on July 8, followed by magnitude 3.1 quakes in Guihulngan City at 12:56 a.m., and in Canlaon City at 8:55 a.m., both on July 9.

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